“You too.”
“Check this out.” Kyle’s eyes point toward his feet. Two toes wiggle. It’s not much, but we’re able to see it.
“Oh my god, Kyle! That’s amazing! What did the doctor say?”
“They said not to get my hopes up. I can see their advice is lost on deaf ears with you too.” He grins.
“Do it again.” I say and he does. He moves his toes again on command. My brother tries hard to act like it’s not that big of a deal, but we both know it’s huge.
“What do you think?”
“I think it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve seen since the day your fat head came into this world.” Bending down, I plant a kiss on my brother’s forehead.
“Dude.” My brother looks to Cooper for help. “You gotta make her stop kissing me.”
Cooper smiles. “Not sure I’m much help there. I like when she kisses me.”
“Gross.”
We all sit around and talk for an hour. Cooper talks sports with Kyle, and Mom and I catch up on her updates from Kyle’s doctors. The conversation between the two men grows a bit heated when Cooper mentions he’s a Raiders fan, rather than a Chargers enthusiast. Sitting back in my chair, I silently watch as the two argue over statistics and players. Most people are uncomfortable around Kyle. They don’t want to upset him—pity stops them from disagreeing with anything he is saying, even if he’s dead wrong.
But not Cooper, he treats Kyle like a regular nineteen-year-old kid. I didn’t bring him here with the intent of observing his interaction with my brother, yet the simplicity of what I see speaks volumes about the complexity of this amazing man.
I lose track of time, spending hours more than I’d planned. Cooper’s quiet in the car on the way back. “My brother liked you.”
“Don’t think he liked my taste in sports teams.”
“Well, your taste sort of does suck.”
“I’ve been reconsidering my loyalties anyway.”
“Why is that?”
“Didn’t really see the appeal of the Chargers before you.”
“And now you do?” I eye him suspiciously.
“First time I met you, you were wearing a Chargers t-shirt.”
“I was?”
“Pink, with a gold lightning bolt. Jeans with a tear at the left knee and right thigh. Black flip-flops.”
Inwardly, my peacock feathers fan that he remembers so many details, but I don’t let him know it. “Not sure we want such an easy-to-flip fan on our side of the bleachers.”
“That didn’t take long.” I hear the smile in his voice, but his eyes stay on the road. “You’re back to being difficult I see.”
I ignore his comment. “My mom liked you too.”
“Mothers love me.”
“You’re so full of yourself.”
“I’d much rather be filling you.” He winks at me and shifts the gear into fourth as he merges onto the highway. Even the way the man handles the gear shifter hints at how good he is in bed. He controls the car like he does everything else in his life. With unwavering authority.
“You have a one-track mind.”
“All Kate, all the time,” he says and it warms me. Although it’s a different warm than I get watching the man exert his power over simple things. I’m starting to realize there’s more than one way he causes a rise in my body temperature.
I put my hand over his on the shifter. “Thank you for coming with me.”
He nods. “Thank you for taking me.”
I sit atop the long marble double sink countertop in the bathroom swinging my legs, watching him get ready. “Did you play sports in high school? Seeing him with my brother made me imagine what he was like in high school.
“Yes. You?”
“Soccer.”
“Football.”
“Was your girlfriend a cheerleader?”
He smiles. “Cliché, huh?”
“I might’ve tried out to be a cheerleader instead of playing soccer if you were at my school.”
“I wouldn’t have went out with the cheerleaders if you were at my school.”
“Ssss,” I make a hissing sound and he furrows his brow. “You said cheerleaders, not cheerleader … as in, you went out with more than one.”
He finishes brushing his teeth and kisses me chastely on the lips. “Let’s not have this conversation.”
“Why not? It’s harmless. We’re talking about high school.”
“Yes, but I’d rather not talk about either one of us dating anyone else right now.” He lifts me from the sink and I oblige him, wrapping my legs around his waist. I flip off the light switch as we pass through to his bedroom.